Pipeline New Works Program

The Cadence Pipeline New Works Program, co-founded by Chris and David Lindsay-Abaire, is dedicated to supporting screenwriters and playwrights as they create and develop bold new works.

Cadence Pipeline Retreat

A special opportunity for playwrights and screenwriters to immerse themselves in a 3 ½-day retreat in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

This retreat will offer a creative space for writers to work on specific developmental goals and sections of their works under the guidance of mentors. Writers will have access to housing, meals, and ample workshop space.

The application period for the 2025 retreat has ended.
Applications for 2026 will be announced in the Fall.

Logistics

Our retreats take place in Afton, VA, located about 1.5 hours from Richmond.

Participants are responsible for their transportation to and from the retreat, as well as a fee to cover the cost of housing and meals.

Schedule

DAY 1

Arrival, intros, warm-up, evening writing session, and optional one-on-ones

DAY 2-3

Writing workshops, nature walks, free writing time, and “open mic” evening sessions

DAY 4

Wrap-up with sharing, closing circle, and check-out

*Subject to change

Meet Your Mentors

Jeni Mahoney

Pipeline New Works Retreat Mentor

Jeni is a playwright, director, dramaturg, teacher, new play development geek and Founder of Seven Devils New Play Foundry, and their esteemed Playwrights Conference, where she served as Producing Artistic Director for 23 years and was instrumental in the development of over 260 new American plays. Inducted into the IndieTheatre Hall of Fame in 2014, Jeni is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the National Theatre Conference (where she served on the Board for six years). She currently serves on the Board of Open Sky, Fleischer Studios, and Seven Devils New Play Foundry, as an Honorary Board Member. Jeni also teaches at Stonecoast, the University of Southern Maine's low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program. More at jenimahoney.com.

Bob Bartlett

Pipeline New Works Retreat Mentor

Bob Bartlett is an affiliated artist with the National New Play Network and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Bob has produced his own site-specific work, including Accident Bear in the Avenue Laundromat in Downtown Annapolis and Lýkos ánthrōpos in a wooded clearing in the middle of the woods on a Maryland farm and at historic Congressional Cemetery in DC. Bob earned his MFA in Playwriting at Catholic University of America, and he is a longtime member of the theatre faculty at Bowie State University in Maryland, where he teaches playwriting, screenwriting, dramatic literature and theory. He is also a founding member of The Welders, a Washington, DC-based, producing playwrights collective. More at bob-bartlett.com.